Gallagher & Lipshutz represents families who lost a husband, wife, parent or child to a crash that someone else caused in Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and the rest of Clark County. A wrongful death claim is the civil case that follows the funeral. It does not bring anyone back, and it does not depend on whether the driver is ever charged. It asks the person who caused the death, and the insurance behind that person, to pay for what the family lost.
Our Las Vegas wrongful death lawyers handle the whole claim so the family does not have to: the police and coroner's reports, the cameras and witnesses, every insurance policy that applies, the court paperwork that names who may sue, and the lawsuit if the insurance company will not pay what the case is worth. We also take the calls from the insurance adjusters, who often reach the family within days of the crash.
Consultations are free, and there is no cost to ask whether you have a claim. Call (702) 381-3770 or contact Gallagher & Lipshutz before you give a recorded statement to any insurance company or sign anything an adjuster sends you.
What a Wrongful Death Claim Is in Nevada
Nevada's wrongful death statute, NRS 41.085, gives a family the right to sue when a death is caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another person. In a crash case, that means proving the same things an injury case proves: the driver was careless, the carelessness caused the crash, and the crash caused the death. The difference is who brings the claim and what the law allows them to recover.
The claim can be brought against the driver, and against anyone else who is responsible for the driver's conduct: the employer when the driver was working, the company that hired an unsafe contractor, or the government agency that designed or maintained the road. Finding every responsible party is the first job, because in most fatal crashes the driver's own policy is far too small to cover the loss.
If your family member was partly at fault, the claim survives. Under NRS 41.141, the recovery is reduced by the share of fault the jury assigns to the person who died, and it is barred only if that share is greater than the fault of the people you are suing. Insurance companies raise fault in almost every fatal crash, because the one person who could answer them is gone.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Nevada
Two groups can sue under NRS 41.085, and a complete claim usually involves both.
The first is the heirs. An heir is anyone who would inherit from the person under Nevada law if there were no will. For most families that means the spouse and children; when there is no spouse or child, it can be the parents, and then brothers and sisters. Each heir has a separate claim for their own loss, and each proves their own damages.
The second is the personal representative of the estate. That is the executor named in a will or, when there is no will, an administrator appointed by the district court under NRS chapter 139. The personal representative brings the claims that belong to the estate rather than to any one family member, and the two sets of claims can be filed together in one lawsuit.
One of the first things we do is open the estate so a personal representative exists, because without one part of the claim cannot be brought. We handle that filing in Clark County District Court as part of the case.
What a Family Can Recover
NRS 41.085 spells out the damages. Each heir may recover for their own grief and sorrow, for the loss of the support the person would probably have provided, and for the loss of companionship, society, comfort and consortium. The heirs may also recover for the pain, suffering and disfigurement the person went through before death. Money awarded to the heirs cannot be taken by the decedent's creditors.
The estate, through the personal representative, recovers the medical bills the person ran up before death, the funeral and burial expenses, and any punitive damages the person could have recovered had they lived. Punitive damages are the estate's claim, not the heirs', which is one reason the estate has to be opened.
The loss of support claim is often the largest part of a case, and it takes work to prove. We gather pay records, benefits and tax returns, and we use an economist when the case warrants it to show what the family would have received over the years the person should have had. Nothing on this page is a promise about what any case is worth; every family's loss is different, and the insurance available sets a practical limit that we look for from the first day.
How We Build a Wrongful Death Case
A fatal crash is investigated by the agency that covers the spot where it happened. That is Las Vegas Metro in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County, Henderson Police in Henderson, North Las Vegas Police in North Las Vegas, and Nevada Highway Patrol on I-15, US-95, I-215 and the state highways. Fatal crashes go to the agency's collision investigators. The full report, with the reconstruction and the officers' body camera video, can take weeks or months. We obtain it, follow up with the investigating officer, and request the 9-1-1 recordings.
The Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner investigates every death from a crash. It issues three reports: the investigation report, the medical examination report and the toxicology report. The family or its lawyer requests them from the coroner's office at (702) 455-3210. Those reports establish the cause of death and answer the questions the insurance company will ask about the person's health before the crash.
Video disappears fastest. Casino, gas station, apartment and doorbell cameras record over themselves within days or weeks, and the private archive of Las Vegas traffic camera feeds keeps about 90 days. We identify every camera that could have seen the crash and contact the businesses and homes with cameras pointing to where it happened. When the case warrants it, we buy the archive hours. We find witnesses from the report and from the scene, and we look for the driver's phone records when the driver says the crash could not be avoided.
Then we find the money. Nevada requires only $25,000 per person in liability coverage, so we look past the driver's own policy. That means an employer's policy when the driver was working, the $1 million policy that covers an Uber or Lyft driver on a trip, the far larger policies behind semi-trucks and delivery fleets, umbrella policies, and your family's own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Nevada requires insurers to offer that coverage in the same amount as the liability limits. It pays a wrongful death claim the same way it pays an injury claim when the driver has no insurance or too little. Our Las Vegas car accident lawyers page explains how those policies stack.
The insurance company investigates at the same time. Its adjuster may call the family within days to ask for a recorded statement, medical records, or a signature on a release. Nothing has to be signed quickly, and once we represent the family the calls come to us.
The Deadline to File
A Nevada wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within two years under NRS 11.190(4)(e). The two years run from the date of death, not the date of the crash. Claims against a government body, such as a county road department, a city, or the RTC bus system, have an extra step. A written claim must be filed with the state or the local government within two years under NRS 41.036, and the damages are capped at $200,000 per claimant, with no punitive damages, under NRS 41.035. Our Nevada injury claim deadlines page covers the exceptions, including the separate rules for deaths caused by medical care.
Do not plan around the deadline. Engage a lawyer right away so the case is built for a lawsuit from the start; an attorney contacted at the last minute may not be able to get the estate opened and the case filed in time.
When the Death Was Also a Crime
Many fatal crashes in Las Vegas lead to criminal charges: DUI causing death, reckless driving, or leaving the scene. The criminal case and the wrongful death claim are separate. The prosecutor works for the State, a conviction does not pay the family, and an acquittal does not end the civil claim, which is decided on a lower standard of proof. We follow the criminal case closely, because the blood results, the crash reconstruction and the body camera video gathered for it are evidence in the civil case too.
A crime can add to the claim. Punitive damages are available when the family proves by clear and convincing evidence that the driver acted with oppression, fraud or malice under NRS 42.005. When the driver was drunk, NRS 42.010 removes that statute's cap on the amount, although a court still reviews every punitive award to make sure it is not out of proportion to the harm done. Our Las Vegas drunk driving accident lawyers page explains how a DUI death case is built.
The Nevada Victims of Crime Program treats a person killed by a drunk driver, and a pedestrian killed by a driver who fled, as a crime victim. The program can pay funeral expenses, counseling and lost support to the family under NRS 217.200 when the crash was reported to the police. It is not a substitute for the claim against the driver, but it can cover the funeral while the claim is pending. If the driver left the scene, our Las Vegas hit and run accident lawyers page explains how we find the driver.
Fatal Crashes in Las Vegas and Henderson
More than 200 people died on Clark County roads in 2025, and roughly a third of them were pedestrians. The deaths cluster on the same roads that produce the valley's serious injuries: I-15 and US-95, Boulder Highway, Las Vegas Boulevard, Charleston and Flamingo, and in Henderson the 215 Beltway, Eastern Avenue and St. Rose Parkway. A family looking for a wrongful death lawyer in Henderson gets the same attorneys as a family in Summerlin or on the Strip; what changes is which police report to pull and which cameras to ask for.
The crash type shapes the case. A death involving a semi-truck or delivery truck brings federal records, the truck's electronic data and a large commercial policy into the claim. A rideshare death turns on whether the driver was on a trip. A motorcycle death has to overcome the bias against riders from the start. A pedestrian death on the Strip or on Boulder Highway turns on where the person was crossing and what the driver could see. The page for each crash type explains what is different about it.
What Families Can Do in the First Weeks
Most of the work belongs to the lawyer. A few things, though, are easier to do early than late.
Step 1: Get the Police Event Number
The officers at the scene or the investigating detective will give the family an event number. Write it down. Every report, recording and camera request starts with it, and our guide to getting a Las Vegas crash report explains how the report is released.
Step 2: Ask for the Coroner's Reports
Request the investigation, medical examination and toxicology reports from the coroner's office, or let us request them. They take time, and the toxicology report can take the longest.
Step 3: Keep Every Bill and Record
Save the hospital and ambulance bills, the funeral and burial invoices, the person's recent pay stubs and the tow yard paperwork. Do not let the car be repaired, sold or scrapped until it has been photographed and inspected; the car is evidence.
Step 4: Do Not Give a Recorded Statement or Sign a Release
An adjuster who calls to express sympathy and ask a few questions is building the insurance company's file. You can tell them a lawyer will be in touch. Nothing needs to be signed, and an early check often comes with a release that ends the claim.
Step 5: Call Gallagher & Lipshutz
Call (702) 381-3770 and we will do all of this for you, starting the same day.
The heirs of the person who died, meaning the people who would inherit under Nevada law if there were no will, and the personal representative of the estate. The heirs claim their own losses; the personal representative claims the estate's, including the medical and funeral bills and any punitive damages. The two claims are usually filed together.
How does wrongful death law work in Nevada?
The family has to prove that another person's carelessness caused the death, the same way an injured person proves an injury claim. NRS 41.085 then lists what each heir and the estate can recover. The claim is made first against the insurance policies that cover the driver and anyone else responsible, and it becomes a lawsuit in district court if those insurers will not pay what the claim is worth.
How long do I have to file a wrongful death claim in Nevada?
Two years from the date of death, under NRS 11.190(4)(e). Opening the estate and gathering the evidence takes time, so the two years should be treated as a limit on the lawsuit, not a schedule for starting the claim.
When should I hire a lawyer for a wrongful death claim in Las Vegas?
As soon as the family is able to make the call. Camera video is recorded over within days or weeks, the insurance company starts its investigation immediately, and the estate has to be opened before part of the claim can be filed. A lawyer hired in the first weeks can do all of that; a lawyer hired near the deadline may not be able to.
What damages can a family recover in a Nevada wrongful death case?
Each heir can recover for grief and sorrow, loss of support, loss of companionship, society, comfort and consortium, and the pain and suffering the person went through before death. The estate recovers the medical and funeral expenses and any punitive damages. There is no cap on these damages in an ordinary crash case; the cap of $200,000 per claimant applies only to claims against a government body.
Does the driver have to be convicted for my family to have a claim?
No. The criminal case and the wrongful death claim are separate. A conviction helps prove the civil case, but a claim can succeed when no charges are filed or when the driver is acquitted, because the civil case is decided on a lower standard of proof.
What if the driver who killed my family member had no insurance?
Your family's own uninsured motorist coverage pays the claim, if the policy has it, and Nevada requires insurers to offer it in the same amount as the liability limits. We also look for every other policy that could apply, including an employer's policy, a rideshare policy, and umbrella coverage.
Can we still file if my family member was partly at fault?
Yes. Under NRS 41.141 the recovery is reduced by the share of fault assigned to the person who died, and the claim is barred only if that share is greater than the fault of the people being sued. Insurance companies raise fault in almost every fatal crash, which is one reason the evidence has to be gathered early.
If someone you love was killed in a crash in Las Vegas or Henderson, call (702) 381-3770 or contact Gallagher & Lipshutz for a free consultation. We will tell you whether your family has a claim, who can bring it, and what we would do first.
